Why Fashion Ads Get Banned
For years, fashion ad campaigns have been on the radar of the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, an independent regulatory agency that wields power over what gets seen in the media. The ASA looks at how ads will influence the public to ensure that ads are not misleading, irresponsible or inappropriate.
Adding to its list of banned fashion ads, the ASA recently took issue with one image from Gucci’s Cruise 2016 campaign, shot by Glen Luchford, because the model’s arms and torso were not in proportion to her head. They also took issue with the model's makeup, saying it made the girl look “gaunt.”
Image Credit: Gucci.
“For those reasons, we considered that the model leaning against the wall appeared to be unhealthily thin in the image, and therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible,” said the ASA.
Gucci responded to the action by addressing the image itself: “Nowhere in the ads were any models' ‘bones’ visible.” Gucci commented on the circumstances of the shoot, adding that the lighting was "warm to ensure there were no hollows caused by shadows and their clothes were not revealing.” The campaign was targeted to an "older, sophisticated audience,” and the model was just "toned and slim.”
In Febuary 2011 the ASA banned a Yves Saint Laurent video ad on claims that the subject in the commercial was demonstrating heroine use, figuratively. The ad, featuring the Belle d'Opium perfume, shows a woman pointing to her inner elbow in a way that suggests she is injecting herself. And, according to the ASA, her rapid movements resemble drug use effects. However, YSL claims that the concept was "the flow of energy,” expressed through passionate choreography, which was not an allusion to illicit drugs.
In a back-and-forth public exchange, the ASA disagreed and released this statement: "While we recognized the name Opium was a well-known designer perfume brand and did not consider it irresponsible or offensive to advertise Opium branded products, and while we noted the consumer research found that most viewers did not consider the ad to be offensive, we nevertheless considered the woman's actions simulated drug use, and therefore concluded it was irresponsible and unacceptable for broadcast.”
Later that year, the ASA banned a Miu Miu Fall 2011 ad starring then 14-year-old American actress Hailee Steinfeld. Shot by Bruce Weber, the Oscar-nominated Steinfeld channeled 1940s fashion as she sat aside a deserted railway. The setting, even with no train in sight, prompted the ASA to conclude that "the ad was irresponsible and in breach of the Code in showing a child in a hazardous or dangerous situation.”
Image Credit: Miu Miu.
Miu Miu had another set of ads banned in 2015 when, after seeing a double page advertisement in Vogue, a reader complained that it was irresponsible to show a child dressed as an adult in a sexually suggestive pose. The image was shot through an open doorway, peering into a private room, and the “child” was actually 22-year-old actress and model Mia Goth.
Mia Goth shot by Steven Meisel for Miu Miu. Image Credit: Miu Miu.
Responding to the input, the ASA said: "We considered that her youthful appearance, in conjunction with the setting and pose, could give the impression that the ad presented a child in a sexualized way.” It banned the advertisement and cautioned Miu Miu parent group Prada SpA to be more mindful in the future.
Despite the ASA's intentions to protect against unrealistic or unhealthy body standards, as well as self-jeopardizing situations, it seems to take its judgments too far — sometimes adding perverse connotations where none exist.
